People
Esther M Friedman
Faculty Associate, Training Faculty
Research Associate Professor, Survey Research Center and Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research
Research Associate Professor, Survey Research Center and Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research
Research Interests:
Esther Friedman is a Research Associate Professor at the Survey Research Center, where she also serves as an Associate Director of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Dr. Friedman is a sociologist whose research examines how families and communities facilitate the health and wellbeing of older adults. Much of her recent work focuses on family caregiving and long-term care. She is currently leading a study for which she is collecting and analyzing new data on the social support networks of family caregivers to persons with dementia.
Select Publications
- Patterson,Sarah Elizabeth, Kelsi Laura Caywood, Esther M Friedman, Vicki A Freedman. 2026. Beliefs about levels of care responsibility for older adults in need: Differences by relationship and the presence of dementia. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging 2(1):e70066.
- Murphy, James P, Esther M Friedman, Kennedy, David P. 2026. Kinship, Gender, and the Social Networks of Caregivers for Older Adults. The Gerontologist
- Daniel Siconolfi, Molly Waymouth, Esther M Friedman, Debra Saliba, Regina Shih,. 2025. Key Informants’ Visions and Solutions to Improve Home- and Community-Based Services for Older Adults and Persons With Dementia. Research on Aging 47(2):103-115.
- Esther M Friedman, Daniela Golinelli, David P. Kennedy, Sarah Edgington, Regina A. Shih. 2025. Factors Associated With Shifts in Caregiving During COVID-19. Journal of Applied Gerontology 44(11):1805-1813.
- Joanne Spetz, ..., Esther M Friedman, Maust,Donovan, Et al.. 2025. The National Dementia Workforce Study: Development of Questionnaires for Home Care, Assisted Living, and Nursing Home Settings. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
- David P. Kennedy, Esther M Friedman, Allison Kirkegaard, Sarah Edgington, Regina Shih. 2024. Perceived loss of support to community caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Journal of Community Psychology 52(3):475-497.
- Kirkegaard, Allison, Esther M Friedman, Edgington, Sarah, Kennedy, David. 2024. Increased Care Provision and Caregiver Wellbeing: Moderation by Changes in Social Network Care Provision. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 79(5):gbae015.
- Esther M Friedman, Sarah Edgington, José J. Escarce, Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, Regina A. Shih. 2024. Implications of Rebalancing Home-Based Care for Family Caregivers to Older Adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology 44(2):183-192.
- Leung, Cindy W, Noura Insolera, Wolfson, Julia A, McEvoy, Claire T, Ryan,Lindsay H, Esther M Friedman, Langa,Kenneth M, Heeringa,Steven G, Hao, Wei. 2024. Food insecurity and dementia risk in US older adults: Evidence from the 2013-2021 Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 79(11):gbae153.
- Jordan M. Harrison, Esther M Friedman, Sarah Edgington, Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, Daniel Siconolfi, Regina A. Shih. 2024. Outcomes of Medicaid Rebalancing May Differ Across Enrollee Populations. Journal of Applied Gerontology 44(4):520-525.